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Schiavo: 'Nothing's going to stop me'

On CNN, he criticizes lawmakers and his wife's parents for prolonging the fight over her life.

Breaking his silence, Michael Schiavo on Monday defended the decision to end his wife's life, despite a blistering emotional and legal battle with her parents.

"I love my wife and I'm going to follow her wish and nothing's going to stop me," Schiavo said on CNN's Larry King Live.

Schiavo, who hasn't commented in recent weeks as controversy swirled around his wife's right-to-die case, said it was Terri Schiavo's wish during their marriage that she not be kept alive by artificial means.

Schiavo also criticized Florida lawmakers for passing "Terri's Law," the measure that allowed Gov. Jeb Bush last week to force doctors to reinsert Mrs. Schiavo's feeding tube.

"The House and Senate never looked at any evidence," Schiavo said. "They made their decision based on e-mails."

Schiavo, 40, of Clearwater, who faced death threats in recent weeks that forced him out of his house, last spoke to reporters at an August press conference and has generally declined interviews during the past two years.

But on Monday, he used the national forum provided by King's show to recount the failed efforts he made to help his severely brain-damaged wife. He expressed anger at Mrs. Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, for challenging his decision in the courts.

"Mr. and Mrs. Schindler know exactly what condition she's in," Schiavo said. "They were there in the beginning. . . . Now they're being fed all this information from these right-to-life activists."

Schiavo appeared in Los Angeles with his attorney, George Felos, who told King that doctors have long resolved that Mrs. Schiavo cannot recover.

"There's no evidence of cerebral activity. She's not brain dead but she has no consciousness, no awareness and she never will," Felos said.

The constitutionality of "Terri's Law" is being challenged in the Pinellas-Pasco courts, and Felos told King he expects an appeal to quickly reach the Florida Supreme Court.

In the hourlong program, Schiavo took King back to Feb. 25, 1990, the morning that he came home late from work, kissed his wife goodnight and awakened to her collapsing near the couple's bedroom. Mrs. Schiavo was 26 and the couple had been married since 1984.

Mrs. Schiavo's brain was deprived of oxygen for several minutes. "I rolled her over and she was lifeless," Schiavo said.

Some doctors believe she collapsed from a potassium imbalance that might have been caused by bulimia nervosa, Schiavo said.

Courts since have ruled that Mrs. Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state and cannot recover. Her parents dispute that, saying their daughter is conscious, responds to them and might improve with therapy.

Schiavo petitioned the Pinellas-Pasco Courts in 1998 to remove his wife's feeding tube, saying she would not want to be kept alive by artificial means.

Schiavo said his wife told him as much several times during their marriage.

He said her death would be painless, saying, "It's a very easy way to die."

Schiavo, who said he once was close friends with Mary Schindler, accused Bob Schindler of wanting control of his daughter's life for the money. He recalled the exact date - Feb. 14, 1993 - when he split with the Schindlers in what he said was an argument over money that nearly ended up in a fight with Mr. Schindler.

"I would never expect anything less from Mr. Schindler," Schiavo said. "Mr. Schindler didn't get any money. He wants the money. He wants the control."

But Schiavo repeated, "I'm not going to walk away because I love her very much."

Schiavo said he put his wife through years of therapy in hopes she would recover. He said nothing worked and he lost hope.

Schiavo said videos that the Schindlers say show Mrs. Schiavo responding to family and objects such as balloons are misleading. He said the tapes show "snippets," and other portions show her to be unresponsive.

Schiavo denied he will profit by his wife's death and said he even offered to give away a malpractice jury award his wife received after her collapse. The money once totaled more than $700,000 but is down to about $50,000.

Schiavo said: "I will not receive a penny from this."

Schiavo said he thought the Schindlers were being unrealistic about their daughter's condition.

"I just think they're grasping at straws," he said.

In another prime-time news program, Greta Van Susteren of Fox News interviewed Pat Anderson, the attorney for Mrs. Schiavo's parents.

Anderson said Schiavo is driven by financial interests. "It's hard to know what to believe with him," Anderson said.

- Times staff writer Leanora Minai contributed to this report. For a recap of current links and retrospective links to early features beginning in 2000, please see www.sptimes.com/schiavo

"I love my wife, and I am going to follow her wish . . . nothing is going to stop me."

"The House and the Senate never looked at any evidence . . . They made their decision based on emails."

"Mr. and Mrs. Schindler knew exactly what condition she is in . . . Now they're being fed all this information from these right-to-life activists."